Circuit board

ABSTRACT

An improved circuit board structure and method of forming the same are provided. The circuit board includes an insulating core and has plated through holes connecting the circuitry on both sides and intermediate layers of the core. A permanent dielectric material is applied on at least one surface of the board covering the circuitry and plated through holes. Vias are formed through the dielectric material and signal lines are formed on the top of the dielectric material connected to the circuitry onto the board through the vias. Additional layers of dielectric material with additional wiring and vias can also be formed for multi-level wiring.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to printed circuit boards, and moreparticularly to an improved printed circuit board having plated throughholes wherein wiring patterns can be formed over the plated throughholes to thereby increase the usable space for printed circuitry. Inmore specific aspects, the present invention provides a printed circuitboard wherein one or more layers of insulating material are applied overthe board. The circuit board has plated through holes and each layer ofinsulating material has formed circuit lines thereon and vias forconnection to the next underlying layer of metalization.

2. Prior Art

Conventional printed circuit cards and boards utilize drilled and platedthrough holes for communication between opposite sides and intermediatelayers of the board to the wiring formed on both sides of the board.Frequently, the plated through holes will also receive pins for theconnection of various types of circuit components. It is usuallyrequired that the plated through holes be able to act as a solderingsocket for a module and that requires that they be fairly large and thata solderable ring or land of metal be provided around the plated throughholes on the surface of the circuit board so as to allow for solderedconnections. This type of structure dictates that a large amount of cardor board space cannot be used for point to point wiring since the wiringmust be done in the spaced between the holes, leaving room between theindividual wire lines and between the wire lines and the solder rings.Recently there has been introduced surface modules and thin film chipwiring devices that do not have pins but have other types of connectionpads. With this type of structure the space necessary for the holes canbe reduced somewhat; nevertheless even with this technology asignificant amount of space is used by the holes which it not availablefor surface wiring. Various techniques have been suggested for varioustypes of wire interconnection wherein plated through holes are presenton the board. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,786 to Texas Instrumentsshows a technique where conducting lines can be provided which extendacross various openings or holes. This technique, however, has manylimitations both in the structures available and the utilization of theholes. Other patents that show techniques for increasing somewhat thewiring density, are U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,405 to International BusinessMachines Corporation; U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,697 to TRW, Inc.; U.S. Pat.No. 4,535,388 to International Business Machines Corporation; U.S. Pat.No. 4,589,166 to GTE Communication Systems; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,800to DuPont Electric Company. None of these are completely effective toutilize the entire surface area of board.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention an improved circuit board or card andmethod of making the same is provided. The circuit board or cardincludes a printed circuit board or card having an insulating core withwiring on both side thereof with or without intermediate layers ofwiring and has plated through holes extending from one surface to theother, at least one of which holes is connected to the wiring. Apermanent dielectric material is placed on at least one surface of thecard or board covering the wiring and the plated through holes. Vias areformed through the dielectric material to communicate with the wiringwhich is connected to the plated through holes and electrical circuitryor lines that are formed on the dielectric material. At least a portionof the circuitry or lines overlay the plated through holes and areinsulated therefrom. The electrical circuitry on the dielectric materialis connected to the circuitry on the underlying card through vias formedin the dielectric material. If required, additional layers ofdielectrical material and electrical circuitry and lines may be formedin a layer fashion in a similar manner and connected to the underlyinglayer by means of similar vias.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIGS. 1a through 1k depict various stages in the manufacture of aimproved circuit board according to this invention somewhatdiagrammatically; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view representation of a portion of the circuit boardformed according to this invention depicting the various line patterns.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and for the present to FIGS. 1a through 1kthe various steps in forming a circuit board according to one embodimentof this invention are depicted somewhat diagrammatically. The startingpoint for the invention is the provision of a personalized circuit boardor card 10. The circuit board 10 includes a core 11 formed preferably ofa brominated epoxy resin impregnated in glass cloth which isconventional and well-known in the art. The core 11 has a series ofthrough holes 12 plated with copper or other conducting material toprovide electrical conductivity from one side of the core 11 to theother side and to intermediate layers as desired. There is typicallyprovided electrical circuitry on one or both sides of the card whichincludes solderable rings or lands 14 formed around the plated throughholes 12. In many cases copper lines are formed on one or both surfacesof the board in a conventional manner and connect with the solderablerings or lands 14 around each of the plated through holes 12 but thesehave not been shown for clarity of illustration. These copper lines, ifpresent, serve the purpose of providing electrical connection to thelands from the circuitry which is to be formed as will be describedpresently. The surface of the circuit board 10 is cleaned byBenzatriazol spray or by Pumice Scrub or by a Vapor Blast to prepare itfor the reception of a permanent photoresist. As shown in FIG. 1b, alayer of permanent photoresist 18 is applied to the surface thereof.Preferably this is a dry photoresist which is applied in sheet form. Apreferred type of photoresist that which is described in United StatesApplication Serial No. 062,360 Filed June 12, 1987 entitled "PhotoresistComposition and Printed Circuit Boards and Packages Made Therewith". Aparticularly preferred embodiment of this photoresist is a resincomprised of about 78% SUB, a multi-functional epoxy resin sold byInterez Company; about 17% Araldite CY179, A cycloalphatic epoxy resinsold by Ciba Geigy Corporation; and at about 5% Tactix 742 atrifunctional epoxy resin sold by Dow Chemical Company. To this resin,about 5% by weight of UVE 1014, a photo initiator sold by GeneralElectric Company, is added. This is a sheet or dry film type ofphotoresist and preferably is applied in sheets having a thickness ofabout 0.002". This can be applied by conventional practices such as hotroll lamination performed at about 100° to 150° C. with a speed of abouttwo feet per minute and 30 psi air assist. It is important that thisphotoresist must be capable of being able to be cured to a hardimpervious relatively non-reactive insulating material capable ofremaining in place on the board and having metal circuitry formedthereon; thus, resists having these properties are characterized hereinas permanent photoresists. While other photoresists could be used, thisparticular photoresist is especially desirable and useful for thisapplication.

At this point, the permanent photoresist 18 is exposed in the desiredvia pattern for providing interconnection through the photoresist layer18 to the underlying lands 14 or copper lines. The exposure can be doneon a conventional Tamarack exposure tool at about 10 psi photo-mastercontact pressure, at 750 Millijoules per square centimeter, using a300-500 nanometer arc 5 kw lamp. The resist is then given a preliminaryor partial cure by baking it for about 10 minutes at about 100° C. Thispartial cure is to increase the differential solubility between theexposed and unexposed photoresist for the subsequent developing step butis not a final cure which will be performed later.

The pattern is then developed preferably in a solution of 94% 1,1,1 MCFTrichloromethane and 6% Gamma Butyrolacetone spray for about 60 secondsat about 30-40 psi followed by a water rinse for about 30-45 seconds anda forced air dry. This will provide a structure as shown in FIG. 1c withvias 20 formed through the permanent photoresist 18. Following thedevelopment, the remaining photoresist 18 is subjected to a final orpermanent cure by exposing it to about 2 joules on the Tamarack exposuretool and then baking at about 150° C. for one-half hour. This provides afirm, impervious, permanent electrically insulating dielectric materialsuitable for the reception of metal circuitry thereon. The circuitry isapplied in the following way.

The surface of the photoresist 18 is cleaned preferably by a vapor blastof pumice and water. Thereafter a metalization seed layer is applied tothe surface of the photoresist 18 and in the vias 20. This is perfectlyby vacuum metalization of a chrome copper layer in a vacuum chamber andserves as an adhesion layer for subsequent copper plate of the vias andcircuitry. First of all a chrome layer 22 is deposited by vacuumevaporation which typically is about 400 to 800 angstroms thick followedby a vacuum deposition of a copper layer 24 about 3,000 angstroms thick.These are both deposited by conventional vacuum deposit techniques whichwill provide the structure as shown in FIG. 1d and in more detail inFIG. 1dd.

Following this step a film 26 of dry resist is applied which preferablyis a negative resist sold under the tradename Riston T-168 by DuPontCompany. This typically is about 11/2 mils thick and is applied by hotroll laminator in a conventional manner. This point in the process isshown in FIG. 1e. The dry fil resist 26 is then patterned by exposure toultraviolet light radiation preferably by using a Tamarack contactexposure tool, the exposure being from about 2-5 seconds at about 60-70millijoules. The pattern exposed is a negative of the pattern that isdesired for the metal line pattern to be applied onto the permanentphotoresist 18. The photoresist 26 is also exposed above the location ofthe lands 14 or other interlayer circuit contact point to which thematerial lines are to be connected. The pattern is then developed in aconventional manner such as by utilizing a methylchloroform sprayfollowed by a rinse utilizing water spray or freon. This is conventionalpractice and provides the structure shown in FIG. 1f.

Copper is then plated preferably from an acid electroplating bathtypically a copper sulfate in aqueous sulfuric acid. The electroplatingprovides a copper deposit over the previously seeded layer within thepattern which will become copper lines 32 and copper is deposited intothe vias 20. This structure is shown in FIG. 1g.

The previously exposed dry film photoresist 26 is then strippedutilizing a methylene chloride spray at about 18 psi followed by a waterspray rinse and air dry. This will remove the exposed dry film resist 26and allow the copper lines 32 deposited onto the seed layer of chrome 22and copper 24 and the plated filled vias 20 to remain as shown in FIG.1h.

At this point the remaining chrome and copper seed layer 22 and 24 isflash etch stripped. The copper preferably is removed with a ferricchloride solution of about 1.28 specific gravity sprayed at about 30° C.for about one minute at a pressure of about 8 psi to reveal theunderlying chrome. The chrome is then removed with potassiumpermanganate composition containing about 60 grams per liter of sodiumhydroxide sprayed about 30° C. for about 1.2 minutes at a spray pressureof about 8 psi followed by a rinse in deionized water. The entirestructure can then be followed by two deionized water rinses. Theresulting structure is shown in FIG. 1i.

As can be seen in FIG. 1i, the copper lines 32 can be placed very closetogether and can actually pass directly over underlying plated throughholes 12 allowing for a very close pattern of wiring on the surface ofthe permanent photoresist 18. Where connections are required, the filledvias 20 provide electrical continuity from the wiring or copper signallines 32 to the underlying lands 14 (or lines if present) and hence tothe plated through holes 12. A similar structure can be provided on theopposite side of the circuit board 10.

If it is desired to place additional wires and particularly if it isdesired to have wires running in a direction orthogonal to the copperlines 32 on the photoresist 18, the entire procedure can be repeated toprovide an additional layer of lines. In this case a second layer ofpermanent photo resist 34 which is the same as the photo resist 18, isapplied over the copper lines 32 and the layer photo resist 18 as shownin FIG. 1j. The identical process as described above is then repeated toprovide a second set of copper lines one of which is shown at 36 on topof the layer 34 of the permanent photo resist preferably runningorthagonally to the copper lines 32 all as shown in FIG. 1k. Vias 38 areformed in the second layer 34 of permanent photo resist to provide forinterconnection of the copper lines 36 to the copper lines 32. Again,the copper lines 34 can be very closely spaced and can pass over theunderlying plated through holes 12 on the circuit board 10.

FIG. 2 shows a Plan view, somewhat diagrammatic, of certain of thelines, vias, and plated through holes indicating how the dense wiring isachieved. Indeed wiring density can be significantly greater than thatwhich can be achieved on the underlying board due to the requirement ofnot being able to run the lines directly on the board over the holes.Indeed lines as small as 2 mils wide and on 4 mils center can beemployed in this invention; whereas, in the prior art when the lines areon the circuit board, the lines very often will have to be 4 mil lineson 9 mil centers to avoid the plated through holes.

The preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a permanentphotoresist and photo lithographic techniques to provide the vias in thepermanent photoresists 18 and 34. However, it is possible to utilizepermanent dielectric materials other than photoresists. One specificmaterial is polytetrafluoroethylene. In this case, rather than exposingand developing the dielectric layer to provide the vias 20 and 38,mechanical or laser drilling techniques are utilized to provide the vias18 and 38 at the desired locations. Otherwise the technique of formingthe lines and filling the vias with metal are the same as describedpreviously.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, various adaptations and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An improved printed circuit board which boardcomprises an insulating core having plated through holes;electricalcircuitry on at least one side thereof which circuitry includes landsconnected to said plated through holes; a permanent dielectric materialon said at least one side of said board covering the circuitry and theplated through holes, vias extending through said permanent dielectricmaterial to communicate with circuitry connected to said plated throughholes; electrical circuit lines on said permanent dielectric material atleast a portion of which circuit lines overlies said plated throughholes and is insulated therefrom; said vias connecting said electricalcircuit lines to said circuitry on said core.
 2. The invention asdefined in claim 1 wherein said dielectric material is a photoresistmaterial and said vias are formed by photolithography.
 3. The inventiondefined in claim 1 further characterized by a second layer of permanentdielectric material overlying the circuit liens and the top surface ofsaid first dielectric material, circuit lines disposed on said secondlayer of dielectric material;at least a portion of said second circuitlines on said second layer of dielectric material being connected to thefirst circuit lines on the first layer of dielectric material throughvias formed in said second layer of dielectric material.
 4. Theinvention as defined in claim 3 wherein the first circuit lines and thesecond circuit lines each include a series of parallel signal lines andwherein the second circuit lines are generally orthogonal to said firstcircuit lines.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein saiddielectric material is polytetrafluoroethylene and the vias therein areformed by removing by mechanical or laser means portions of dielectricmaterial.
 6. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein saidphotoresist material is an epoxy resin having a photoinitiator containedtherein.
 7. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said resinincludes a multi-function epoxy resin component, a cycloaliphatic epoxyresin component, and a trifunctional epoxy resin component.